Once upon a time (say, around 1990), no
film festival would be complete without an Aki Kaurismaki movie.

The wunderkind of Finnish cinema, who then put out a new feature
or two each year - each a mix of impish humor, deadpan irony
and a free-form rock ’n’ roll sensibility - was seen as an antidote
to the prevailing perception of too-serious European directors.

Then, Kaurismaki seemed to drop out of sight. He continued making
movies, but the festival programmers had moved on to the newest
flavor of the month.

Now, when BAMcinematek presents "Kaurismaki Goes America"
(July 10-27), viewers may be surprised at how consistent Kaurismaki
has been over two decades of filmmaking. When his latest feature,
"The Man without a Past," played festivals last year
and was released commercially this year, critics fell over themselves
praising the director’s new-found maturity. Needless to say,
Kaurismaki doesn’t entirely agree.

"I have become older, but does it mean ’maturity’ is another
question," he told GO Brooklyn via e-mail from his home
in Finland. "I started this caring stuff already in ’Shadows
in Paradise’ back in 1986. I always have cared for my characters,
but sometimes they just aren’t so nice."

The director casually calls "Shadows" (showing July
12) a member of his "genre C." It’s best to let him
explain his motives: "To keep the minimal sanity I have
left, I have divided my work roughly to three categories: a)
literal adaptations, b) the rock ’n’ roll department, and c)
social-realistic tragi-comedies, whatever that means. Of course
all these genres are mixed together. I like playing with literal
dramas and dealing with social questions but not without relaxing
with ’rock-nonsense’ now and then."

Kaurismaki’s entire career has mixed all three genres with delightful
abandon. The movie after which the series is named, 1987’s "Hamlet
Goes Business" (July 19), is a wry updating of Shakespeare
that doesn’t even try to hide its basic ludicrousness; another
skewed take on a famous literary work, "Crime and Punishment"
(July 11), was the director’s 1983 debut.

The "rock ’n’ roll department," as the director calls
it, consists of his ragtag band of ne’er-do-wells from Russia,
the Leningrad Cowboys. This hopelessly inept rock group first
made its onscreen appearance in 1989’s slapstick "Leningrad
Cowboys Go America" (July 13), then returned for a relatively
sober 1994 concert movie, "Total Balalaika Show" (to
be shown with other Kaurismaki shorts on July 15).

In response to a query about whether or not the Cowboys will
return to the big screen, Kaurismaki enigmatically responds,
"You never know in this perfect world."

Genre C’s most notable achievement is the under-appreciated "Drifting
Clouds" (July 26), a disarming 1996 character study of a
working-class couple desperately struggling with their dual unemployment.
As with "The Man Without a Past" (for which she won
Best Actress at Cannes last year) and other Kaurismaki features
in the series, actress Kati Outinen stars as the put-upon - but
never defeated - heroine.

Outinen and cinematographer Timo Salminen are the director’s
go-to collaborators.

"I have worked with Timo almost 25 years, which means we
just whistle during the shooting," Kaurismaki wryly notes,
"and the same goes with Kati - after 18 years, I write parts
directly for her, and in my last few films I have even let her
improvise a bit in minor details ... which I then cut away at
the editing table."

One of Kaurismaki’s least-typical adaptations is 1999’s black-and-white,
dialogue-less drama "Juha" (July 27), based on a tragic
novel by Finnish novelist Juhani Aho. Finnish composers Aarre
Merikanto and Leevi Madejota each took stabs at composing operas
based on Aho’s book, but Kaurismaki prefers the music of others.

"I am big admirer of certain Russian composers, like Tchaikovsky,
Shostakovich, and Prokofiev, whose music I have also used a lot
in my films," he says. "Of the Finnish, I most prefer
[Jean] Sibelius, but for money reasons - all the rights are in
Germany, and they are greedy - I have absolutely no chance to
use his music in my films."

And no, the director will not accompany his films to BAM, but
he has nothing against Brooklyn. Last fall, he made news by refusing
to attend the New York Film Festival in protest over Iranian
director Abbas Kiarostami not getting a visa. He is not about
to change his mind now.

"Even though I missed attending the New York Film Festival,
which has the wittiest audience ever, I won’t visit the USA while
the present government is in power," he says. "I don’t
like totalitarian regimes, but it would be incorrect to call
me anti-American. I’m just fond of justice."

"Kaurismaki Goes America," a series of films by Aki
Kaurismaki, will be shown July 10-27 at BAMcinematek, 30 Lafayette
Ave. between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street in Fort Greene.

"Calamari Union," July 10 at 4:30, 6:50 and 9:10 pm

"Crime and Punishment," July 11 at 2, 4:30, 6:50 and
9:10 pm

"Shadows in Paradise," July 12 at 2, 4:30, 6:50 and
9:10 pm

"Leningrad Cowboys Go America," July 13 at 2, 4:30,
6:50 and 9:10 pm

"Total Balalaika Show," with program of short films,
July 15 at 4:30, 6:50 and 9:10 pm

Reasonable discourse

Comments closed.

First name

Last name

Your neighborhood

Email address

Daytime phone

Your letter must be signed and include all of the information requested above. (Only your name and neighborhood are published with the letter.) Letters should be as brief as possible; while they may discuss any topic of interest to our readers, priority will be given to letters that relate to stories covered by The Brooklyn Paper.

Letters will be edited at the sole discretion of the editor, may be published in whole or part in any media, and upon publication become the property of The Brooklyn Paper. The earlier in the week you send your letter, the better.